Where We Need to Be (Whouffle)
by OswinsSouffleShop
Summary: The Doctor and Clara go to a new planet ... and Clara gets lost along the way. [One-Shot]


Clara had begun to wonder when the adventure was going to begin.

"Can't we just enjoy a nice day on a nice planet with nice people?" The Doctor asked, reading Clara's expression. She shrugged, drinking an odd type of coffee. It was fizzy, which wouldn't sound very good, but it was actually pretty amazing.

"We can … it's just different," she responded, choosing her words carefully, "Usually we can find something to solve … some civilization to save." The Doctor watched her, her delicate choice of wording.

"You think I try to put us in danger?" he asked, getting that from Clara's response. Clara shrugged once again, a returning motion that Wednesday from The Impossible Girl.

"You just seem to like the excitement. That's all," Clara admitted, busying herself with the napkin on her lap. "You can't help yourself, you just have to figure things out," she continued in reflection, not able to meet his eye. The Doctor found the underlying message in her words, heard the tone she used. "I'm not judging, I mean, I like the action of it to," she quickly continued. The Doctor knew was bothering her, and it's the reason he'd chosen a planet known for it's peace and it's cuisine.

It'd been a week and a half since The Doctor saved Clara from his streamline, since his impossible girl became a little less impossible. He'd seen something that frightened him that night as well, but he was putting the darkest corner of his past in the darkest corner of his mind. He could run from his run, he had done that before, but Clara couldn't escape hers.

"Clara, I'm not going to drop you off back in London because I know why I kept seeing you," He promised, but his companion faked a look of surprise.

"Did I say I worried about that?" She said, sliding off her seat. "I'm going to go try to find a restroom in this place. You can stay here … try to stay out of trouble," she told him, looking over her shoulder where a small hallway was in the café.

"Okay," he muttered like a child, leaning back in his seat as she wandered down the hall. She looked over her shoulder one last time, to make she he had stayed put, and then she disappeared through one of the two doors.

Even if Clara was a bit angry with The Doctor, she couldn't deny she worried about him. It had just recently become apparent that she was supposed to worry about him. No … not worry, worry was thinking without doing. Clara Oswald was born to _save _The Doctor.

The Doctor worried about Clara. He knew she was completely capable of taking care of herself, but he was worried about her mind. He was worried about that beautiful, human mind that'd been tainted by The Doctor.

Clara wouldn't admit it, but he knew that ever since that night on Trenzalore she'd been funny. She was antsy and paranoid and confused. She wouldn't bring any of this up to him, although he wished she would, but he didn't force anything out her. She was in a delicate place, and he didn't want to break her further.

Clara meanwhile was in an alleyway. The door she'd walked out of was wasn't the loo, but a back exit. It was one of those doors that locked when it closed. She walked to where the alley met the street, turning to find she had no idea where she was. The restaurant had been in a very commercial area. The Planet was a destination for space travelers according to The Doctor colonized by humans, but evolved into a mix of hundreds of species. Clara wouldn't have been fazed by that if it weren't for the fact she'd walked out of the human area and into a place better described as off the beaten path.

She backed away from the dirty street, and turned, walking back down the café alleyway until she reached the door more. Clara rapped her knuckles against it, hoping someone would hear her. After less than three seconds Clara realized she wasn't knocking against the same door. The one she'd exited from moments before was wooden, and the one she was standing before was metal.

She backed up, away from the door, looking back down both directions of the alley. One was a dead end, complete brick. The other led out to the street. Clara could've stayed put, but that wouldn't do her any good.

Out on the street, in an unfamiliar alien territory, filled with unknown sounds and scents: unfamiliar faces and species. The TARDIS translated for her, but that didn't make her any less confused.

"E-Excuse me," she said to a woman passing her. An ornate hat set on her head, tilted downwards to cover her face. "Would you happen to know how to get into to-" Clara thought of where she was before, realizing she had no idea where she was, or if she was even in the same city as The Doctor was in.

The woman was gone before Clara would get her thoughts together.

The situation would've been slightly better if she was stranded in a busy area, where there were plenty of people for her to speak to. She wasn't though, she was off the beaten path, and there weren't many people walking on it.

The only places for her to go were the shops. Clara was reluctant to go into the gloomy stores, but they might have been the only way to get back where she needed to be.

The Doctor was sitting in his chair, tapping his foot on the ground, waiting for Clara to return. The Doctor didn't know how long Clara had been gone, he bet it just felt longer than it was, but he knew she shouldn't have been taking so long if things were fine.

He set some money down on the table, heading toward the door. He leant onto the wall next to it and called for Clara. After a minute of saying her name he swallowed, and he was pulling his sonic screwdriver out.

"Sorry sir, the teleports only for employees," a waiter passing by told him, taking his apron off, holding it one hand as he started to the door.

"Teleport?" The Doctor repeated for confirmation. The waiter nodded, but before he could reach to open the door he was interrupted again. "Teleport to where?" The Doctor asked.

"It takes you where you need to be," the waiter answered, and the Time Lord went straight through that door, thinking one word.

"Clara, is it?" the man across from the petite woman asked, and she nodded. She shifted on her feet, kept her arms crossed, and most importantly stayed on guard. The store she was in was a sort of alien head shop. It had illegal written on it, but the human-like man at the counter was the only one who would help her.

"It's Clara," she said, trying to focus on the man, not on the odd items placed around the shop.

"Well Clara, I think I know just the place you're looking for," he told her, flashing her a smile. He looked human, but he wasn't. Something was off about him. "But I'm not sure I can let you go alone, pretty girl like you, wouldn't want you to get hurt. Don't know if you knew, but this part of town isn't the nicest."

Clara looked over her shoulder, at the street, and gulped. It looked a lot nicer than it looked in the store. Sure, it was pretty empty, but she'd take empty over the man any day. She turned her head back to him, noticing his watchful gaze. He didn't that harmful, but Clara wasn't sure of almost anything anymore.

"I-I'm going to go get some air," she said, clearing her throat, "And don't worry about getting me back … I-I think I know how." His eyebrow rose, and he started to step from the counter.

"No, really, I can help you," he assured her, but Clara was already backing up, ready to turn around.

"Clara." As she turned she heard her voice called again, but it was a familiar voice, a friendly one. "Clara," The Doctor breathed, mouth curving into a relieved grin, "I was wondering where you went."

Clara was confused on how he found her, and a bit angry that she needed saving, but she was too relieved to see him to hold a grudge. She ran in the small between them to hug him, throwing her arm around his neck.

She smiled against his neck, forgetting about the shop owner. The Doctor was just noticing the other man though.

"I can take it from here," he told the shop owner as Clara pulled away from the hug, deciding to grab his hand instead. The man didn't look entirely happy, but he didn't make any moves to stop her from leaving. "Come on, Clara," he told her, pulling on her hand, "We better get going."

The hurried out of the shop, and the second they broke into a walk down the street, The Doctor spoke. "What were thinking of when you went through that door?" he asked, and Clara furrowed her brows.

"I was happy you'd gotten me out there," she told him, but he shook his no.

"No, I mean the door at the café," he clarified, and she shrugged.

"Wha-"

"The door you went through. It's a teleport. Takes you where you need to be, what you're thinking of," he explained, and she nodded. She'd guessed it was something like that, but she didn't know how it worked.

"I was thinking of getting my mind off of what happened," she told him, loosening her grip on his hand and letting it swing by her side. "The better question is how did _you_ find _me_?" she asked, eyes peering up at him. "You said it took you to where you needed to be," she reminded him, "where did you need to be that in return brought you to find me?"

"I was thinking about you," he told her, and she smiled.

"Well thank you for that," she said quietly, reaching back for his hand, "I think you noticed you I was getting a bit desperate."

"I did," he replied softy, and they were silent for a few minutes, walking down the street. They turned streets, crossed roads, and The Doctor swore he knew where they were going.

"Do you really know we're going?" Clara asked him with a raised brow. The doctor paused, looking over his shoulder down one of the many roads they've walked.

"Not a chance," he admitted, and Clara laughed.

"Well," she replied, giving him a grin he hadn't seen in a while, "at least we're where we need to be." She squeezed his hand, and he fought a grin.

"Yeah," he said softly, looking down his companion. "I think we are."


End file.
